


You Were Still Here

by saekhwa



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cats, Alternate Universe - Dogs, Crack, M/M, Ridiculous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-13 00:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7130198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saekhwa/pseuds/saekhwa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone was tired of hearing about Ray's cat problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Were Still Here

**Author's Note:**

> Why take things seriously when you can imagine Ray Palmer as a lovable lab and Mick Rory as a surly tomcat? 
> 
> Like all things, I blame Moriavis, but I also have to thank her for beta'ing this, because let's face it, I stopped being ashamed of shit a long time ago.

The problem with rambunctious, lovable, cute puppies: everyone wanted to pet them. Jax wasn't immune to the attention and rolled onto his back, giving the human couple already cooing over him easy access to rub his belly. Ray, though, had been in the middle of a very important story, which had already been interrupted five times. Now, at the sixth interruption, he accepted defeat, huffed, and walked away. Jax didn't even seem to notice. 

Ray needed advice—or, as it were, he needed additional advice. He'd asked Oliver first, and Oliver had said, "Throw him out the window. Problem solved." But Mick was a cat. Everyone knew cats landed on their feet. 

Next, Ray had asked Felicity for advice, and she'd told him to give it time. After five weeks, Ray had still failed to retrieve his own bed from the mangy cat that had invaded his home. 

Ray raised his head, smelling Sara and Snart and their respective owners before he actually saw them. His unhappy lope turned into a joyous spring forward, and he found them by Snart's favorite tree. Ray skidded to a stop as Sara barked a friendly greeting while Snart stared with indifference. 

"I'm glad to see the two of you," Ray said, pawing at the ground and then bounding over Sara and hopping over Snart next. 

"Can't say the same about you," Snart said, and then moved a few steps before curling next to the tree trunk that offered the best shade in the dog park. 

Ray laughed and turned to Sara. "He's worse."

"Snart?" She shook her head. "No. He's just sad Flash isn't here."

Now that Sara mentioned it, no one had seen Flash in a while. He was a hard dog to miss with the way he bolted from one end of the dog park to the other, full of so much excitement, everyone thought he was still a puppy. 

Ray shook his head and focused on the issue at hand. "No. I'm talking about Mick. He's stolen my bed and my food _and_ my toys, and now he's trying to steal Anna."

Sara batted the ball that had rolled between them. "Tragic."

"Yes!" Ray leapt into the air now that someone finally understood his predicament. 

Sara straightened, and as small as she was, it felt like she was staring down at him. "Ray. Please stop talking about Mick. We come here to have fun, relax, and you are killing that fun."

"Bu—"

"Killing it. Like Trickster killed that squirrel a few days ago."

Ray shuddered. It had been pretty gruesome, but talking about Mick didn't compare to that at all. He tried to argue the point, but the moment Nyssa appeared, Sara repeated, "Take Oliver's advice or stop bringing it up. Your choice. Then she left, and Ray, once again, was left by himself. 

~*~

He decided to follow Cait's advice this time and walked to the bed. Anna had gone to work, and like always, Mick had plopped himself in the middle of Ray's bed as part of his usual routine of sleeping the entire day away when he wasn't destroying the curtains or couch. 

As Ray drew closer, Mick opened his eyes. He wasn't hissing, had mostly stopped, so Ray took those last couple of steps forward. He continued maintaining a reasonably safe distance, though, because while he liked the vet—she had some of the best treats—he didn't like getting stitches each time Mick decided to swipe at him with his claws. 

"Okay, Mick," Ray said, sitting on his haunches, "we need to talk."

Mick sat up and stretched his forelegs, spine arching as he yawned. "Nothin' to talk about, Haircut." Then he slinked past Ray, his tail swatting Ray in the face. 

~*~

"Since no one's made this eminently clear to you," Rip said, "no one bloody cares about your cat problem. Some of us have more pressing matters to consider."

Ray flopped to the ground, resting his head on his paws, eyes wide as he whined low in his throat, but that didn't stop Rip from walking away. 

"Hey."

Ray raised his head, twisting around, and saw Cait. 

"Hey," he said as she sat next to him. "Any word about Flash? Snart's been pretty grump. More than his usual grumpy."

Cait laughed as she darted a look over at Snart. As usual, he was lounging beneath his favorite tree, glaring at any new dog who came close not knowing any better. 

She turned back to Ray, ducking her head in a nod. "Yeah, I thought you heard. Flash, Cisco and Harry broke free of the backyard and were sent to the pound. I'm sure they'll be fine. How are you holding up?"

It's only because Cait asked that Ray felt it completely appropriate to tell her everything that had happened since they last saw each other, up to and including Mick's temporary stay becoming a permanent arrangement. 

"Anna's keeping him."

"At least you have your bed back?" Cait offered. 

Ray shook his head, wishing that was true. 

~*~

Since Mick had effectively stolen his bed, Ray slept on the floor most days. The couch would've been a great alternative, but Anna didn't like him on it. 

When he heard her alarm, he opened his eyes, yawned, and stretched. He flopped back to the floor, waiting until she poured food into his bowl and then Mick's. She refreshed their water, patted the top of his head as she grabbed her keys, and said, "Be a good boy," shutting the door behind her. 

Ray yawned again, shaking himself out. He looked at his bowl of food but didn't advance, looking warily around for Mick, who usually took this opportunity to tromp in, swipe at Ray's face and then proceed to eat everything in sight. 

There was no sign of Mick. 

Ray sprinted to his food bowl, eating everything in large, hasty bites. Before he'd swallowed the last bite, he looked left and then right, turning around to make sure Mick wasn't sneaking up behind him. Still no Mick, so he lapped at his water. 

"Mick?" Ray asked when he was finished, and took a step into the kitchen. Mick sometimes liked to lounge on top of the stove, especially when Anna wasn't around to shoo him off. 

No Mick there either. Ray walked from room to room but couldn't find Mick anywhere. Since Anna didn't seem alarmed this morning, Ray hoped that maybe Mick's permanent stay had returned to its temporary status and he'd been adopted by someone else. 

When Anna returned home, searching the entire house for Mick herself, Ray wondered where Mick could've even gone. 

~*~

The only reason they were at the dog park was so Anna could hand out flyers to fellow pet owners. Fortunately, she didn't keep Ray at her side, choosing instead to unhook his leash. Ray immediately sprinted toward Snart's tree, where he could see Sara, Cisco, Jax, and Cait. Flash was tucked under Snart's paw. 

"He's gone," Ray said, and then hastily turned to Flash and Cisco. "And welcome back." He looked at Sara, Jax, and Snart again, since they were the most familiar with his situation. "Have you seen him?"

Flash raised his head, bounding up to his feet, ears perked. "Who's gone?" 

Snart pawed at Flash, dragging him back down and pulling him in close. Sara just groaned. 

"Mick," Ray said. "He's gone. Anna and I looked everywhere for him."

"It's what you wanted, so celebrate," Snart said. "Go play fetch or bury a bone."

Flash raised his head again and then stood, staring down at Snart. Cisco hid his face under his paws. "What did you do?"

Snart didn't respond. 

Ray looked between Flash and Snart, wondering what he could have possibly done to Mick, since Mick never left the house. 

Flash pushed his nose against Snart's neck, nudging and nudging until Snart shifted, sighed, and said, "Chill out. The cat's fine. I took care of it."

That sounded a lot like Oliver's stories about how his owners "took care" of things. 

"Did you…?" Ray stopped, afraid to voice it. 

Bold as ever, Flash outright asked, "Did you kill him?"

Snart briefly bared his teeth and then rose to all fours. He shook his body out, huffed, and started walking toward the humans gathered around Anna. "The point was to get Ray to stop talking about the damn cat."

"I didn't want you to kill him!" Ray barked. 

~*~

The jingle of keys made Ray perk up, and he moved closer to the door to confirm… Anna was home. 

He sprinted straight for the door, dodging left of it when she opened it, laughing. Ray jumped, standing on his hind legs and resting his paws on her when he saw the pet carrier. He shoved his nose against the cage door, snuffling, but he already knew: she'd found Mick. 

"Down, Ray. Sit. Sit. Good boy," Anna said, scratching behind his ears. 

Ray jumped right and left, chasing Anna into the kitchen, wondering where Mick had gone, how Anna had found him. 

"Who's a good boy?" Anna asked. Ray barked, because it always made Anna laugh, and today was no different as she patted his head. "That's right. You are." She pulled down a treat, tossing it at him, and Ray snapped it out of the air. 

He crunched on it, but stood on his hind legs again, resting his paws on the counter, so he could watch her open the pet carrier. 

"You missed him, too, didn't you?" Anna asked, and Ray barked. "We're lucky we found him."

She reached into the pet carrier but laughed, drawing her hand back as Mick slunk forward. He peered at her and then turned to Ray. 

"Mick, where've you been? Are you okay?" Ray asked. 

Mick didn't look any different—still had missing patches of fur and the scars along his neck and down his forelegs. Mick rubbed his cheek against the cage door and then advanced toward Ray, who immediately dropped to the floor, worried Mick might still scratch him. 

"Stop worrying, Haircut." Mick leapt down to the floor, but Ray jumped out of the way. Mick was definitely different. 

He watched as Mick plopped himself down onto his own, smaller bed. Ray had to admit he was happy Mick's stealing days were over, but… It didn't seem right. Ray lowered himself to the floor, inching forward on his belly, tail thumping the wall. Mick watched him but didn't swipe at him, so Ray continued dragging his belly on the floor until his nose was in the danger zone of Mick's claws. 

He nosed Mick's side, but Mick didn't move. "You okay?"

"Leave me alone. I'm tired."

Ray carefully licked Mick's face and then jumped up to his feet, carefully taking hold of his bed in his jaws and dragging it closer. "Here," he said, dropping it halfway onto Mick's bed. "I know you like my bed better."

Mick looked between the bed and Ray. Then he stood, walked over, and dropped right ino the middle of it. With a woof, Ray curled on the floor next to Mick, head on the bed, and watched Mick, nuzzling Mick's side until he fell asleep.


End file.
